@@morten1 I guess, though I wouldn't buy them (again) since they are a bit scratchy like all Cherry MX's. Not bad to the point where it bothers me, but still there are smoother linears out there.
This is amazing. What a gold mine of a channel for keyboard/switch reviews. This is on a complete other level from other reviews. Seriously, how did you become such an expert at this stuff? Much respect, and highly appreciated.
recently i've discovered a neat little trick that makes matias QCs at least twice as good: take out the dampeners and replace them with the smaller ones from cream ALPS. suddenly the mushiness is almost completely gone, the sound is improved a lot while still remaining relatively silent, and the key travel is just the right length.. you have to try it if you haven't already. nothing compared to SKCM orange of course, but this transforms an okay-ish modern tactile ALPS clone into something that's almost on the same level as the vintage ones.
What if you just remove the dampener entirely? Is it still a good tactile, or does that ruin the feel? I'm asking because I might look into doing this but I don't have cream alps to use, and I don't care about the noise.
@@m_uz1244 well i found that it sounds like legos rattling that way, but the feel is quite okay. and you csn always reverse the mod. since my previous comment i've been experimenting with this a lot, and found that with matias the best (non-clicky) tactile switch combination is QC leaves in click switches.. of course you need two sets for that..
Man vintage apple never really let's down. Number to was cool as well. That keyboard, holy shit it's other worldly. Thanks as always for the videos man. I willing to bet so many big name keyboard makers watch your videos and read the comments on them lol. Keep up the great work.
Yeah well, he uses cherry so he hasn't really used a true mechanical keyboard like most tech reviewers he hasn't tried alps. I mean fuck, the dude likes chiclet switches.
Deeply in love with Big Blue Buckling Spring, followed tightly by my beloved early SKCM "complicated" Blue Alps in my Chicony KB-5161A pressed into service on our family's first 286SX-12 PC, used well in my youth, and passed down to me :) Now.... If I only had the forethought to ask for one of the IBM 5251 keyboards my father's company removed from service IN THE 90's. There were hundreds....dawning every desk as far as the eye could see. So sad to know what their fate must have been. Thank you so much for your hard work. I really appreciate your reviews!
The 3 weeks wait feels like eternity. Haven't watched the vid yet, here's my guess, from worst to best. -topre -zealio -some bizzaro ancient switch that i've never hear of -orange/salmon alps -brown alps
Maciej Pociecha yea, im basing my prediction from his review videos. I didn't think smk and fujitsu would be in this list because both of them doesn't score quite well in the review. Iirc, he said smk tactile isn't as good as the clicky one, while on his review on fujitsu he didn't really like it at all, but his opinion have changed now. zealio also trumps other mx tactile switch. That's why I'm so excited for this video, to see how every switches that he's reviewed stack against each other.
@Joshua Hunter Drop is selling some in a group buy atm. I'm picking me up some Zealios v2 65g from KBDfans (Holy Pandas was my second pick.) Building a custom once I get all the parts and I'm coming from a Logitech G710+ haha, I don't even know what to expect but I'm sure I'll be impressed!
Mx browns I don't find too awful (I agree that they are not great but hey, at least its not Razer Orange) but Kailh browns, oh god no, and don't forget Romer G.
I'm currently typing on Razer Orange and I honestly love them, they are so much nicer than MX Browns, in my opinion! Kailh browns I have yet to try and Romer G feel even worse than MX Brown for me.
well, it is all up to personal preference, and of the MX style switches, Brown is the only one I've tried that I like, blue actualy feels a lot more linear than brown to me too, even though the weighting isn't all that different, and the tactile bump is supposed to be bigger, but to me Razer switches just feel like mediocre cherry switches.
PcmciaKai The razer oranges I tried were so scratchy that the tactile bump was barely noticable. They also felt loose, a lot of wobble compared to MX browns and razer greens. Is that usual or just the board I tried?
I grabbed a pile of apple stuff at a bargain center recently, four of the five keyboards are M0116s and I really enjoy them so I'm very happy to see them topping this list! Thanks!
I almost hoped to see MX-stem switches like Zealios, Kailh, Cherry etc... but then I remembered this is a Chryosan video and he prefers switches that few people will ever acquire.
I wish this list took into account ease of acquisition and use. With the exception of the Topre, these are all either hard to get, hard to use (due to keycap and/or board compatibility) or both. A top five list of easy to found and use tactile switches would have been more useful, if less interesting. Note that for "easy to use", I mean will fit standard PCBs and take general (ie cherry mount) keycaps.
Yes! My favourite tactile switch is also yours! To those interested, if you can find yourself an original AEK in good condition with Orange ALPS, you are well & truly set. :-)
i have good soldering skills and have had 4 years of electrical engineering. but the closest thing to programming i know is g-code and i dont remember that to well. so my skill level is all hardware.
Like the deep voice as always.. i don't think my FC660C Topre feels mushy i tried the Novatouch when it was sold in shops and did not like it almost gave up on topre. Until someone told me it's a whole different feel than the Novatouch. And indeed it is day and night. Also i like that i can mod my FC660C with Hyperspheres lube them with sum SuperLube oil and crease and have a awesome sounding / feeling board.. My second somewhat favorite switch are mx-clears.. i lubed them without de-soldering just the slider rails and feels and sounds a bit better but i'm afraid de-soldering is a must for a real feel...But then i would want to tryout Zealios Zilent
What is your opinion about distinguishing tactile from clicky? I think the active part to make noise is the key elemnt to make clicky switch. Other than that, like the loudness perspective, SKCM oranges are sometimes louder than MX blue.
It's very simply. If there is an element that was designed to make a clicky noise during travel, it's clicky. They're easy to distinguish; a clicky switch will make a clicky noise even when pressed very slowly, while a tactile switch will not.
Chyrosran22 So making a buzzer or solenoid hammer for keyboard to make sound while pressing the key would make the keyboard clicky. Thanks for your answer.
I'm kind of surprised that SKCM Brown didn't make the list; I've seen some people say that orange has nothing on them. I hear they're very rare, so it would be understandable if you haven't tried them, Chyros.
Sometimes I can't think of a way to describe just how bad something is, so I am very excited about the review of the Worst Switches video and plan on taking copious notes! Thank you!
The other plus of oranges is that you can super easily adjust the amount of tactility and even make them click. My favourite is orange with just a hint of click. Maybe I haven't come across the right btc board, but they lack Topre's buttery smoothness imho, even mitsumi dome with sliders are smoother. Having said that, I haven't had a chance to try a NIB BTC. When I know I will spend hours typing, I keep going back to the "feeling of oneness with cup rubber," even if I like other switches better Topre is the easiest on your fingers.
Since I am still sort of new to the mechanical keyboard scene and more into clicky switches, I have not been exposed to too many tactile switches. However, I can definitely agree with you on BTC Dome with Slider. It does feel great and reminds me of how modern rubber dome keyboards can be made much better. I also have a Dell Bigfoot with Black Alps. I would say those are my favorite tactile switches so far, but I really want to explore other tactile Alps switches. Sadly, those switches tend to make my credit card cry.
He really doesn't like any cherry switches, probably least of all brown, having said something like "cherry shit switches which are brown... oops, I mean cherry brown switches which are shit"
I don't know if they can make it to being in this top ten, as it will be for clicky, linear and tactile combined (and for those too shitty to fall on only one of those categories, as our beloved browns). There are also a lot of truly shitty switches, at least all the cheap clones of the cherry brown (also if truth be told the cherry should take the crown for inventing the genre!)
That was precisely the irony (and the fact they feel rough linears)! Is there really someone who likes them? I mean, somebody who at least tried something else...
He doesn't really hate Cherry Browns... he just hates how he can't really HATE it. Because its so mediocre that he can't really complain but he can't really say it's good either
recently got a board full of orange alps. It's pretty clean but I think something heavy sat on the keys for a long time because the switches are nearly linear :c
Yes, that sounds like the leaves have been bent out of shape which can be caused by such a thing. It's possible to just bend them back, though - in fact you can customise the degree of tactility yourself quite easily!
Would love to see a key wobble shoot-out of the more mainstream key switches - cherry Razer .kailh etc ... - i know you don't like the mainstream switches but it seems there isnt a single key wobble shootout anywhere on youtube
Surprised at #1. I had a board with those caps and I actually didn't like them much. I use Topre 55g as my main tactile switches now; I tried a board with Brown Alps recently and actually really liked those more.
Gotta say, while I am a huge Zealio fan I do agree with them not being on this list. I am finally starting to get more into vintage KBs & starting to get a feel for ALPS. I can definitely agree that they have quite a unique feel compared to any other switches & when they are in good shape MX can't hold a candle to the overall package of ALPS. That said though, personally I would've given an opinion on your favorite MX switches in these videos just because of their overwhelming usage in the enthusiast community. Also I would've rated Topre with BKE redux a spot higher & put it by itself, as IMHO they drastically change the feel of a Topre board to the point that it could almost be considered a different switch. For stock Topre I agree with your opinion. Anyways great video as usual, looking forward to your most disliked switches videos (where I have a feeling MX switches will show heavily, knowing your tastes LOL). Keep up the good work & I'll see you around GH & DT man!
Before I start watching-I hope there is something that can replace the abominable Kailh Blue switches in my keyboard. Unless it'd be easier to teardown my dead/faulty Chicony and re-solder the Kailh's LED
Great video, thanks! What do you think about the Matias Quiet Click switches? You seemed to like the Matias Clicky switches, but I haven't found any statements about the Quiet Clicky (I might have overlooked it, of course).
I don't have a board with them yet. I might well review one in the future, though. To clarify; switches that I haven't tested are disqualified from the list.
Aren't BTC domes capacitive too and therefore should allow nKRO as well (2:33)? At least thats what I thought the little black spot on the bottom side of BTC DWS domes that connects tracers on the PCB were for. Edit: Ignore that, BTC is merely conductive. Time for an electronic refresh curse on my part I guess. At least this is a positive comment for a great video ;)
Excluding matias if you have ever tried them it's not that much surprising. It depends on how crude the tactility works on cherry style switches, just a bump on the slider that pushes the contact leaf. The result is that you can have even a good difference in force, but it's not a sudden drop, instead it's spread on around a millimeter of travel killing the purpose. When you type fast they feel what they are: linears with ruined smoothness. Another downside of the tactile switches in mx form is that the bigger the bump, the heavier the spring must be, otherwise the switch may fail to return up. That's why the mx clears have more tactility than browns. To have a true tactile mx switch I only have hope on kailhua/novelkeys to find a way to dampen the clickbar's hammering on the box navy...
Not really, no matter how fast I type I can still very much feel the tactile bump on my stock Clears, which allows me to type without bottoming-out (Browns are a different story). Although I do admit I'd prefer a slightly sharper tactility a bit closer to the top - kind of like BOX Burnt Orange. Hopefully the new BOX Purples will achieve this. Silent thick clicks don't sound bad either. Lower weight Zealios and Ergo Clears don't have any problems overcoming the tactile bump, so the upstroke force requirement is not much of a downside as well.
Probably it really depends how you type, I tend to bottom out most of the times, if you press down with the right force to arrive with the finger to where the bump ends you may actually feel it, in fact I felt better the bump on the halo true, that have springs that gets stronger the more you go down. But at the end for how I type I prefer box whites, that feels almost linear, with a small but sharp tactility, or even the smoothness of true linears. I hope box purple would be closer to cherry clear than kailh pro purple, the latter has less tactility than box brown... For lighter springs I was thinking of those of around 45 grams of the cherry brown, but truth be told something like that probably doesn't even exist in alps form...
Clears and Zealios are still inherently limited in tactility. Matias QC are exempt from this list as I don't have a keyboard with them in (so I can't test them).
Yeah if you bottom out anyway you might as well use linears and enjoy the smoothness. As long as the new Purples are a more tactile version of BOX Browns/Orange, it's gonna sell like hot cakes. I'm really putting my faith in Novelkeys for this one, I'm postponing my next build until they come out.
I don't own a board with them! I don't put in switches I haven't had the opportunity to test properly. It's quite likely they'd have made it to the list if I had, though.
Do you think there are any comparable switches to ALPS neon green? By comparable I mean rounded, topre-esque. I love rounded tactile switches but topre has a tiny bit of that annoying rubber mushiness and mechanical topre sounds really good, but neon greens are rare and I was wondering if there is a more available alternative?
Have you acquired a board with tactile and clicky Hall effect switches in? Because the clicky switches are actually pretty good; haven’t tried the tactile switches though.
Like me you probably prefer to glide over the keys and expend "just enough" force to hit the tactile point, hence why Orange ALPS are king. However do you think you would be just as fast in a lower weighted clicky ALPS? Say if you took the springs out of the orange and put them into Blue ALPS?
Alps click leaves' tactile bump inherently require a greater force to overcome than that of equivalent tactile leaves, so it wouldn't be exactly equal. But yes, I think a slightly lighter weighting would have made me work on them quicker. I also type very fast on green Alps, which are similarly very fairly light.
I'm curious as to why you didn't put Brown Alps on here. I've never personally tried any Alps switches before, but I always hear really nice things about Brown Alps in particular. just not your taste?
great i can find nothing in my country with skmc switches in "mainstream" shops :( you should do a list of what easily accessible keyboards on the market you think are worth a try. I wanna get into mecs, the online flee markets seem to not have them at the moment.
Imo, these are some reasons why: - current market is already filled with cherry and its clones, and they are selling really well. Making new alps switches and keyboards means that you need to have new molds for the switches and its components, new pcb, new keycaps molds and all of that without any certainty that they will sell as well as current mx style boards(*see reason no.2) - you see a lot of people liking alps in this very niche realm of mechanical keyboard enthusiast. I think 70-80% of mechanical keyboard user never even heard of alps switches. MK is already a niche thing, and vintage keyboard enthusiasts are a niche inside a niche. -alps switches are complicated, hence its nickname "comlicated alps". That probably means more expensive production. There are several simplified alps clones still being produced to this day, and i think they're all shit. Not that easy to make a quality switches it seems. Matias is a different story though, they're pretty good imo, but still isn't on par with the original alps switches.
Cherry mostly survived due to two reasons; 1) they had a big share of the POS keyboard market, which, being specialist, could afford to remain mechanical for a long time, and 2) unlike Alps, NMB, IBM etc. Cherry were much too small to survive without giving up keyboards (for the others it was small potatoes pretty much).
im wondering what your thoughts are on the "wooting one" switchs. just found out there will be a hot swapable version. i ordered my keyboard and am waiting for the arrival. once i order the hot swap-able, id be happy to send my linear wooting one board over to you! but regardless thats down the line.
Hey idk maybe its me, but i recently got a mx clear switch keybaord and they dont feel tactile at all. its the varmillo vb87md. maybe its because im heavy handed but i dont feel any tactile feed back when typing regularly. when i type slow i can feel the actuation point but it doesnt feel like a bump. maybe im just not as attuned to tactile switches as i thought i was and just need auditory feedback for that satisfaction. ive owened outemu blues, greetech browns, and jwh blacks before this keyboard.
Do a top 5 or 10 of the best commercially available switches!
@@creeproot zealios for tactiles.
@@creeproot Imo its better to try and find a used older keyboard rather than a newer one.
@@creeproot new box browns turn clicky after a few months and holy pandas are overrated, get something like T1s.
@@JFK_Speedwagon what are the T1s? Are they easily available? I've given up on my beamspring dreams and just want to get available stuff haha
@@joachimcano4704 everglide Oreo - film and lube them
Chyrosran's voice is tactile
Agreed
You could have bought my ears a drink first.
bakedbeings xD
Chyrosran22 xd
400th like
I love how he does the "don't get mad if you don't see your favorite switch" while pressing on a Zealio
"Cherry MX Brown"
* Gets stabbed by Chyrosran *
He starts throwing BTC dome with slider keyboards at you
What are the best MX switches then.. Reds?
@@morten1 I guess, though I wouldn't buy them (again) since they are a bit scratchy like all Cherry MX's. Not bad to the point where it bothers me, but still there are smoother linears out there.
Morten clears and reds so ye
Gateron browns are number 1 ez
It's always a good day when Thomas brings a new video out, thanks for this series!
This is amazing. What a gold mine of a channel for keyboard/switch reviews. This is on a complete other level from other reviews. Seriously, how did you become such an expert at this stuff? Much respect, and highly appreciated.
Thank you very much! I own a huge amount of keyboards, keyboard switches and materials, and have poured hours and hours of research into them.
Awesome, no thank you for sharing your knowledge!
recently i've discovered a neat little trick that makes matias QCs at least twice as good: take out the dampeners and replace them with the smaller ones from cream ALPS. suddenly the mushiness is almost completely gone, the sound is improved a lot while still remaining relatively silent, and the key travel is just the right length.. you have to try it if you haven't already. nothing compared to SKCM orange of course, but this transforms an okay-ish modern tactile ALPS clone into something that's almost on the same level as the vintage ones.
what's wrong with kbparadise?
What if you just remove the dampener entirely? Is it still a good tactile, or does that ruin the feel? I'm asking because I might look into doing this but I don't have cream alps to use, and I don't care about the noise.
@@m_uz1244 well i found that it sounds like legos rattling that way, but the feel is quite okay. and you csn always reverse the mod.
since my previous comment i've been experimenting with this a lot, and found that with matias the best (non-clicky) tactile switch combination is QC leaves in click switches.. of course you need two sets for that..
Man vintage apple never really let's down. Number to was cool as well. That keyboard, holy shit it's other worldly. Thanks as always for the videos man. I willing to bet so many big name keyboard makers watch your videos and read the comments on them lol. Keep up the great work.
Haha that'd be very flattering but I don't think so xD . I can only hope they revive some of the great oldies though, stuff back then was SO GOOD!
No MX Browns? Those are the best tactile switches according to Linus Tech Tips.
/s
I love it when experts of an area make videos about it ;)
MX Browns are garbage. Scratchy as hell. I'd take a good rubber dome over it.
I don't really like mx browns , but gateron browns...AH. Writing this on my anne pro with gat. brown :D
Yeah well, he uses cherry so he hasn't really used a true mechanical keyboard like most tech reviewers he hasn't tried alps. I mean fuck, the dude likes chiclet switches.
The Gaming Titan scratchy??
Deeply in love with Big Blue Buckling Spring, followed tightly by my beloved early SKCM "complicated" Blue Alps in my Chicony KB-5161A pressed into service on our family's first 286SX-12 PC, used well in my youth, and passed down to me :) Now.... If I only had the forethought to ask for one of the IBM 5251 keyboards my father's company removed from service IN THE 90's. There were hundreds....dawning every desk as far as the eye could see. So sad to know what their fate must have been. Thank you so much for your hard work. I really appreciate your reviews!
You’re the reason I get excited every Friday night, man! Amazing content!!
Cheers :) .
The 3 weeks wait feels like eternity. Haven't watched the vid yet, here's my guess, from worst to best.
-topre
-zealio
-some bizzaro ancient switch that i've never hear of
-orange/salmon alps
-brown alps
Useless Dog Zealio are only good in comparison to other MX switches, they are pretty meh compared to other designs.
Maciej Pociecha yea, im basing my prediction from his review videos. I didn't think smk and fujitsu would be in this list because both of them doesn't score quite well in the review. Iirc, he said smk tactile isn't as good as the clicky one, while on his review on fujitsu he didn't really like it at all, but his opinion have changed now. zealio also trumps other mx tactile switch. That's why I'm so excited for this video, to see how every switches that he's reviewed stack against each other.
Can you do best switches that are still being made?
@Joshua Hunter they are combinations
@Joshua Hunter Drop is selling some in a group buy atm. I'm picking me up some Zealios v2 65g from KBDfans (Holy Pandas was my second pick.) Building a custom once I get all the parts and I'm coming from a Logitech G710+ haha, I don't even know what to expect but I'm sure I'll be impressed!
@Joshua Hunter is Holy Panda a tactile switch?
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017 yes
Great little mini series! Enjoyed it very much, and as always, can't wait for some colourful language.
i dont understand half the things being said in these videos but i enjoy watching them anyways. u have a nice voice and good sense of humor
You hear that? That is the sound of angry topre users typing away.
a beautiful sound, like raindrops, or tears
top ten worst? are you sure you can rant that long about razer switches?
Or MX Browns? Or even worse - older Kailh Browns (shudder)
Mx browns I don't find too awful (I agree that they are not great but hey, at least its not Razer Orange) but Kailh browns, oh god no, and don't forget Romer G.
I'm currently typing on Razer Orange and I honestly love them, they are so much nicer than MX Browns, in my opinion! Kailh browns I have yet to try and Romer G feel even worse than MX Brown for me.
well, it is all up to personal preference, and of the MX style switches, Brown is the only one I've tried that I like, blue actualy feels a lot more linear than brown to me too, even though the weighting isn't all that different, and the tactile bump is supposed to be bigger, but to me Razer switches just feel like mediocre cherry switches.
PcmciaKai The razer oranges I tried were so scratchy that the tactile bump was barely noticable. They also felt loose, a lot of wobble compared to MX browns and razer greens. Is that usual or just the board I tried?
When you demonstrate tactility, you should press a linear key switch directly into the key. It'll visually show the curve on camera very well
I can recommend BTC dome and slider switches; they are highly tactile and not at all mushy. You don’t need to bottom out to activate them either.
I grabbed a pile of apple stuff at a bargain center recently, four of the five keyboards are M0116s and I really enjoy them so I'm very happy to see them topping this list! Thanks!
You know this is an extreme video when topre starts at #5 🤙🏿
Wow, I'm very happy to have a keyboard that is in this top 5. Very happy with my BTC domes with slider keyboard.
Great video trilogy! Have a request: will you do a top five vídeo with the best tactile which are more common in the market, nowadays? Thks
I almost hoped to see MX-stem switches like Zealios, Kailh, Cherry etc... but then I remembered this is a Chryosan video and he prefers switches that few people will ever acquire.
I wish this list took into account ease of acquisition and use. With the exception of the Topre, these are all either hard to get, hard to use (due to keycap and/or board compatibility) or both. A top five list of easy to found and use tactile switches would have been more useful, if less interesting. Note that for "easy to use", I mean will fit standard PCBs and take general (ie cherry mount) keycaps.
I can barely manage to find a board with Cherry Clears, how on earth do you find these switches??
I had the same problem. I found the Durgod Taurus K310 which I like very much. Also my Cherry G80-3000 has Clears.
Awesome video! I can't wait for the next one as well!
Yes! My favourite tactile switch is also yours! To those interested, if you can find yourself an original AEK in good condition with Orange ALPS, you are well & truly set. :-)
What about connecting it to a modern computer without spending 50 dollars on an overpriced adapter?
well i see im not the only one in love with a orange alps bored. i resurrected my power Macintosh G3 just so i could use it.
ADB boards are pretty easy to adapt to USB ;) .
huh, got a good link? because the premade adapters are out of my price range.
i have good soldering skills and have had 4 years of electrical engineering. but the closest thing to programming i know is g-code and i dont remember that to well. so my skill level is all hardware.
@@RockeyDAproductions Hey, did you manage to find the tutorials/wakthroughs online? I have one to link if not
im not in point in my life were i cn spend money on things i dont need. but no i h4vent
Like the deep voice as always.. i don't think my FC660C Topre feels mushy i tried the Novatouch when it was sold in shops and did not like it almost gave up on topre. Until someone told me it's a whole different feel than the Novatouch. And indeed it is day and night.
Also i like that i can mod my FC660C with Hyperspheres lube them with sum SuperLube oil and crease and have a awesome sounding / feeling board.. My second somewhat favorite switch are mx-clears.. i lubed them without de-soldering just the slider rails and feels and sounds a bit better but i'm afraid de-soldering is a must for a real feel...But then i would want to tryout Zealios Zilent
What is your opinion about distinguishing tactile from clicky?
I think the active part to make noise is the key elemnt to make clicky switch. Other than that, like the loudness perspective, SKCM oranges are sometimes louder than MX blue.
It's very simply. If there is an element that was designed to make a clicky noise during travel, it's clicky. They're easy to distinguish; a clicky switch will make a clicky noise even when pressed very slowly, while a tactile switch will not.
Chyrosran22 So making a buzzer or solenoid hammer for keyboard to make sound while pressing the key would make the keyboard clicky. Thanks for your answer.
A keyboard, yes, a switch, no.
I'm kind of surprised that SKCM Brown didn't make the list; I've seen some people say that orange has nothing on them. I hear they're very rare, so it would be understandable if you haven't tried them, Chyros.
if you can do top 5 or top 10 the most rare switch that will be insane
Sometimes I can't think of a way to describe just how bad something is, so I am very excited about the review of the Worst Switches video and plan on taking copious notes! Thank you!
The other plus of oranges is that you can super easily adjust the amount of tactility and even make them click. My favourite is orange with just a hint of click.
Maybe I haven't come across the right btc board, but they lack Topre's buttery smoothness imho, even mitsumi dome with sliders are smoother. Having said that, I haven't had a chance to try a NIB BTC. When I know I will spend hours typing, I keep going back to the "feeling of oneness with cup rubber," even if I like other switches better Topre is the easiest on your fingers.
Thanks. I've enjoyed this series a lot. After the follow up 'top 5 worst' series, I think 'top 5 best orderable' series could be very popular.
Since I am still sort of new to the mechanical keyboard scene and more into clicky switches, I have not been exposed to too many tactile switches. However, I can definitely agree with you on BTC Dome with Slider. It does feel great and reminds me of how modern rubber dome keyboards can be made much better. I also have a Dell Bigfoot with Black Alps. I would say those are my favorite tactile switches so far, but I really want to explore other tactile Alps switches. Sadly, those switches tend to make my credit card cry.
Really nice review! Please do an update on all your list if possible.
Yes! Been waiting for this video :D
I'm definitely looking forward to your top 10 worst switches.
"And they are all.... RUBBREH" - Thomas 2018
Luan Thomas the dank engine
Love your reviews - Keep it up :)
You might want to try retrobrighting the yellowed plastic cases and keys one your vintage boards to restore their original color.
So no cherry brown here? Or should they have been on the video about linears?
He really doesn't like any cherry switches, probably least of all brown, having said something like "cherry shit switches which are brown... oops, I mean cherry brown switches which are shit"
Don't worry, they'll probably be in the top 10 worst switches ever made video :)
I don't know if they can make it to being in this top ten, as it will be for clicky, linear and tactile combined (and for those too shitty to fall on only one of those categories, as our beloved browns). There are also a lot of truly shitty switches, at least all the cheap clones of the cherry brown (also if truth be told the cherry should take the crown for inventing the genre!)
That was precisely the irony (and the fact they feel rough linears)! Is there really someone who likes them? I mean, somebody who at least tried something else...
He doesn't really hate Cherry Browns... he just hates how he can't really HATE it.
Because its so mediocre that he can't really complain but he can't really say it's good either
recently got a board full of orange alps. It's pretty clean but I think something heavy sat on the keys for a long time because the switches are nearly linear :c
Yes, that sounds like the leaves have been bent out of shape which can be caused by such a thing. It's possible to just bend them back, though - in fact you can customise the degree of tactility yourself quite easily!
TOP 5 TACTILE mechanical keyboard switches MX like?
please make a special edition long typing test of your voice
Would love to see a key wobble shoot-out of the more mainstream key switches - cherry Razer .kailh etc ... - i know you don't like the mainstream switches but it seems there isnt a single key wobble shootout anywhere on youtube
Rubbreh Domeh
*WARNING:* INCOMING FUCKNESS
xD
I can confirm that a Topre FC660C with BKE Redux Light domes is fucking amaze.
never clicked on a vid so fast
You should redux these top switches videos and also top modern switches if you can too! That would be fun
Thanks so much! I love your videos!
Love the bass boot
I actually REDUCE the bass in my videos xD .
@@Chyrosran22 hahaha I misread decrease as increase my bad lol
Surprised at #1. I had a board with those caps and I actually didn't like them much. I use Topre 55g as my main tactile switches now; I tried a board with Brown Alps recently and actually really liked those more.
I wonder where the upcoming BOX Royal will compare to these switches.
Loving these videos
Gotta say, while I am a huge Zealio fan I do agree with them not being on this list. I am finally starting to get more into vintage KBs & starting to get a feel for ALPS. I can definitely agree that they have quite a unique feel compared to any other switches & when they are in good shape MX can't hold a candle to the overall package of ALPS.
That said though, personally I would've given an opinion on your favorite MX switches in these videos just because of their overwhelming usage in the enthusiast community. Also I would've rated Topre with BKE redux a spot higher & put it by itself, as IMHO they drastically change the feel of a Topre board to the point that it could almost be considered a different switch. For stock Topre I agree with your opinion.
Anyways great video as usual, looking forward to your most disliked switches videos (where I have a feeling MX switches will show heavily, knowing your tastes LOL). Keep up the good work & I'll see you around GH & DT man!
Before I start watching-I hope there is something that can replace the abominable Kailh Blue switches in my keyboard. Unless it'd be easier to teardown my dead/faulty Chicony and re-solder the Kailh's LED
BTW - your voice does sound better with less bass - I also found it a bit too boomy in earlier videos -
my favorite tactile switch (ive never used anything not mx-mount) is the gazzew boba u4t switches
Great video, thanks!
What do you think about the Matias Quiet Click switches? You seemed to like the Matias Clicky switches, but I haven't found any statements about the Quiet Clicky (I might have overlooked it, of course).
I don't have a board with them yet. I might well review one in the future, though. To clarify; switches that I haven't tested are disqualified from the list.
Your voice is amazing.
I like this bass decreased video but I like your natural voice
Aren't BTC domes capacitive too and therefore should allow nKRO as well (2:33)? At least thats what I thought the little black spot on the bottom side of BTC DWS domes that connects tracers on the PCB were for.
Edit: Ignore that, BTC is merely conductive. Time for an electronic refresh curse on my part I guess.
At least this is a positive comment for a great video ;)
Watching this video while cleaning and restoring a Dell AT101W
It's very surprising that rubber domes make it past MX Clears/Zealios and Matias QC.
Excluding matias if you have ever tried them it's not that much surprising. It depends on how crude the tactility works on cherry style switches, just a bump on the slider that pushes the contact leaf. The result is that you can have even a good difference in force, but it's not a sudden drop, instead it's spread on around a millimeter of travel killing the purpose. When you type fast they feel what they are: linears with ruined smoothness. Another downside of the tactile switches in mx form is that the bigger the bump, the heavier the spring must be, otherwise the switch may fail to return up. That's why the mx clears have more tactility than browns. To have a true tactile mx switch I only have hope on kailhua/novelkeys to find a way to dampen the clickbar's hammering on the box navy...
Not really, no matter how fast I type I can still very much feel the tactile bump on my stock Clears, which allows me to type without bottoming-out (Browns are a different story). Although I do admit I'd prefer a slightly sharper tactility a bit closer to the top - kind of like BOX Burnt Orange. Hopefully the new BOX Purples will achieve this. Silent thick clicks don't sound bad either.
Lower weight Zealios and Ergo Clears don't have any problems overcoming the tactile bump, so the upstroke force requirement is not much of a downside as well.
Probably it really depends how you type, I tend to bottom out most of the times, if you press down with the right force to arrive with the finger to where the bump ends you may actually feel it, in fact I felt better the bump on the halo true, that have springs that gets stronger the more you go down. But at the end for how I type I prefer box whites, that feels almost linear, with a small but sharp tactility, or even the smoothness of true linears. I hope box purple would be closer to cherry clear than kailh pro purple, the latter has less tactility than box brown...
For lighter springs I was thinking of those of around 45 grams of the cherry brown, but truth be told something like that probably doesn't even exist in alps form...
Clears and Zealios are still inherently limited in tactility. Matias QC are exempt from this list as I don't have a keyboard with them in (so I can't test them).
Yeah if you bottom out anyway you might as well use linears and enjoy the smoothness. As long as the new Purples are a more tactile version of BOX Browns/Orange, it's gonna sell like hot cakes. I'm really putting my faith in Novelkeys for this one, I'm postponing my next build until they come out.
Love the T1s, Happy Panda clones, but somehow better. But doubt you'll bring yourself to trying them.
matias didn't make it on this list?
How do Cream Damped switches compare to these tactile alps on this list in your opinion?
What kind of switches would be in the animated intro video
The new sound settings are better, please keep them.
+Chyrosran22 what is the best and the worst switch
Aw no skcm browns :(
I don't own a board with them! I don't put in switches I haven't had the opportunity to test properly. It's quite likely they'd have made it to the list if I had, though.
@@Chyrosran22 tied with lime alps anyway
Is that a Micom keyboard, at 5:46 (Fujitsu tactile magnetic reed)?
Do you think there are any comparable switches to ALPS neon green? By comparable I mean rounded, topre-esque. I love rounded tactile switches but topre has a tiny bit of that annoying rubber mushiness and mechanical topre sounds really good, but neon greens are rare and I was wondering if there is a more available alternative?
Have you acquired a board with tactile and clicky Hall effect switches in? Because the clicky switches are actually pretty good; haven’t tried the tactile switches though.
Gazzew Boba U4T ... I was really surprised of them.
Like me you probably prefer to glide over the keys and expend "just enough" force to hit the tactile point, hence why Orange ALPS are king. However do you think you would be just as fast in a lower weighted clicky ALPS? Say if you took the springs out of the orange and put them into Blue ALPS?
Alps click leaves' tactile bump inherently require a greater force to overcome than that of equivalent tactile leaves, so it wouldn't be exactly equal. But yes, I think a slightly lighter weighting would have made me work on them quicker. I also type very fast on green Alps, which are similarly very fairly light.
I'm curious as to why you didn't put Brown Alps on here. I've never personally tried any Alps switches before, but I always hear really nice things about Brown Alps in particular. just not your taste?
Invidious Ignoramus just not in my collection more like xD
Are there any modern keyboards with any of these switches?
Cherry MX Brown
@@roei89 mx brown is not good stop
@@spacer-lx5pq why?
@@roei89 mx browns "tactility" is low,so low that the mechanical keeybs comunity jokes on it being "another linear one from cherry's mx series"
@@spacer-lx5pq ok maybe you right, they don't do their job as "tactile switches", but they are not bad
Do the BKE Redux domes affect this ranking at all, now that you've tried them?
What about the classic home computer keyboards? TI994A, color computer, commodore?
Corpse: Finally, a worthy opponent
My favourite tactiles are Gateron CAP Browns
BOX Royals (might) change the tactile game. Did Mike send you a sample?
great i can find nothing in my country with skmc switches in "mainstream" shops :( you should do a list of what easily accessible keyboards on the market you think are worth a try. I wanna get into mecs, the online flee markets seem to not have them at the moment.
Is it possible to get Alps Orange in a modern keyboard, and if not, what's the closest in feel that I can/should buy? Thanks!
Dya think you could review the hhkb and hhkb lite? No one has done a video on the lite, would be great to see one :)
What is the last keyboard he uses?
I wonder if this list would be different today with all of the better mx-style tactiles
Alps are so much better still
Old school switches kick modern switches ass in most ways that aren't aesthetics or ease of Acquiring.
And this is coming from a Zealios V2 user
Everywhere you look, everyone seems to love Apls. How come they are discountinued of everyone loves them?
Mechanical keyboards became unprofitable due to the low prices of competing rubber domes.
Imo, these are some reasons why:
- current market is already filled with cherry and its clones, and they are selling really well. Making new alps switches and keyboards means that you need to have new molds for the switches and its components, new pcb, new keycaps molds and all of that without any certainty that they will sell as well as current mx style boards(*see reason no.2)
- you see a lot of people liking alps in this very niche realm of mechanical keyboard enthusiast. I think 70-80% of mechanical keyboard user never even heard of alps switches. MK is already a niche thing, and vintage keyboard enthusiasts are a niche inside a niche.
-alps switches are complicated, hence its nickname "comlicated alps". That probably means more expensive production. There are several simplified alps clones still being produced to this day, and i think they're all shit. Not that easy to make a quality switches it seems. Matias is a different story though, they're pretty good imo, but still isn't on par with the original alps switches.
Gnuu12341 because they were too expensive to make. Cherries survived the membrane decades because they were cheap enough.
Cherry mostly survived due to two reasons; 1) they had a big share of the POS keyboard market, which, being specialist, could afford to remain mechanical for a long time, and 2) unlike Alps, NMB, IBM etc. Cherry were much too small to survive without giving up keyboards (for the others it was small potatoes pretty much).
Thank you all for the replys! That shed some light on the subject for me.
What is the difference between Orange Alps and Brown Alps? I always thought brown was the best, but I do not think so.
Brown has a more rounded tactility. The tactile leaf is a completely different design.
I want to hear a podcast featuring this guy and Corpse Husband... Doesn't matter what subject...
I got to try Orange and Salmon ALPS at the MKUK meetup. It was love at first clack.
Theo Higgins noice! Good to see people still spreading the Alps love at MKUK :D
I hope my alps whites make the list... have a SiliconGraphics graphite board with the Alps white. Love this board.
Wait... YOU HAVE AN SGI KEYBOARD?!?!?!??
im wondering what your thoughts are on the "wooting one" switchs. just found out there will be a hot swapable version. i ordered my keyboard and am waiting for the arrival. once i order the hot swap-able, id be happy to send my linear wooting one board over to you! but regardless thats down the line.
I would love to review one, but they denied me a keyboard to review.
Hey idk maybe its me, but i recently got a mx clear switch keybaord and they dont feel tactile at all. its the varmillo vb87md. maybe its because im heavy handed but i dont feel any tactile feed back when typing regularly. when i type slow i can feel the actuation point but it doesnt feel like a bump. maybe im just not as attuned to tactile switches as i thought i was and just need auditory feedback for that satisfaction.
ive owened outemu blues, greetech browns, and jwh blacks before this keyboard.